Component
specific. SRA
isolation
platforms conform
to the width,
depth and weight,
and where
necessary, the
irregular contours
of the hardware
they support. The
platforms here
reviewed retail
for $685 each.

Since
I've already
recommended with
maximum enthusiasm
the Silent Running
Audio VR Series
platform under my
Mark Levinson
No.39 CD player,
I'll try to be
brief. Silent
Running Audio
acoustic isolation
and resonance
control devices
uniquely conform
to the size and
weight of the
component they
support. While
this bespoke
congruity is
pleasing to the
eye, good looks
aren't the main
point: the closer
the platform's
horizontal
dimensions to the
component it
supports, the less
opportunity for
resonance
transmission.
Coatings also
count. These VR
Series pieces are
finished in a
composite that
includes rubber
and glass, its
first purpose
resonance and EMF
cancellation. Form
follows function,
and the form is
most attractive.

SRA's
Kevin Tellekamp
brings a
background in
stealth and
resonance-control
technology,
military and
civil, to his
isoBASE™ lines.
He calculated and
constructed the
two VR Series
platforms he
recently delivered
for my Mark
Levinson amps to
support 200 pounds
each. Because a
component's weight
is critical to its
SRA platform's
effectiveness, the
compound-filled
balloons within
the upper part of
each duplex unit
differ in number
and size from
those within the
CD player's
platform. When
Kevin set the
first of the two
amp platforms in
place, he stood on
the thing and did
the twist. He
wasn't showboating
- merely checking.
When I jostle one
of my massive, SRA
mounted 33H's, it
moves just enough
to show that it
"floats."
I'm reminded of
the old Neolite
shoe-repair slogan
"Strong but
oh so
gentle!" (If
you can recall the
picture that went
with the quote,
you're probably
using a walker.)

Few
audiophiles
disagree that
acoustic isolation
and resonance
control are
sonically
significant. Even
fewer disagree
that the plenitude
of problem-solving
approaches is
confusing. I won't
pretend I've taken
in the scene.
Still, I'm pretty
sure that,
designwise, nobody
goes about his
business as
Tellekamp does.
And then there's
his curriculum
vitae: the man
mastered his
resonance-control
disciplines in the
most demanding of
arenas before he
even thought of
applying them to
audio. All right,
let's say for
argument's sake
that my good
opinion of these
SRA pieces does an
injustice of
omission to other
resonance-control
systems. With
respect to the
manufacturer-designers
I slight, and I've
no doubt I do, I
can only say that
Tellekamp's
high-tech,
component-specific
approach, its
price point and
eye-appeal sum to
a delight. (Who
would argue that
$685 for a
complex,
custom-made
component is a
steal? We spend
more than this on
our
interconnects!)
Tellekamp and
associates had no
pieces lying about
awaiting insertion
under Mark
Levinson mono
amps. To maintain
a
component-specific
inventory for even
the most popular
audio gear would
be absurdly
difficult for a
outfit many times
SRA's size. Before
anything got cut,
the man needed to
know the
dimensions of the
33H's footprint
and its weight.
(SRA has most of
this information
on hand. Sometimes
Kevin needs to
ask. A new,
economy SRA line,
Tremor-Less,
offers generic
platforms the
end-user adjusts
for weight.)

In
forming an opinion
of these SRA VR
Series platforms
for my 33H's, I
spent more than
the usual amount
of time listening
to imperfect
recordings. As a
reviewing tool,
there's something
be said for this
approach. I
determined I was
hearing
shortcomings with
greater clarity.
But that's my
obsession:
proximity to the
recording, steller,
middling, and
godawful bad.
(Audiophiles! Wake
up and smell the
ozone! We've
nothing to lose
but our illusions!
We do not get
"closer to
the music,"
however endearing
our sound systems.
There is nearfield
listening, of
course, but that's
another story.)
I've drawn my
conclusions from
first-rate
recordings too, of
course, and the
striking thing
here is
differentiation.
An unusually
resonant and
somewhat misty
Marc Aubort-Joanna
Nickrenz
production of
Brahms' two piano
trios could not be
farther in
character from a
promotional set I
recently received,
recorded live
(with applause) by
Mark Willsher at
Skywalker Ranch,
Marin County, CA.
Super sound, fine
playing, and an
interesting
program: Mozart's
K.464 Quartet in A
major, Beethoven's
Op. 18, No. 5 in A
major, and a new
work, Don
Coleman's
Quartetto ricecare.
CD ROM enhancement
to boot! Worth
looking into. www.cypressquartet.com.

The
5¼-inch-tall
platform under my
CD player appears
more or less to be
one piece, its
inner section
protruding but
slightly below its
outer shell. The
amps' VR Series
platforms stand
5¾ inches high.
The section that
does the floating
sits, its five
spikes (four at
each corner, one
at the center)
coupling with
their steel cups
fixed to a two-ply
slab that in turn
spike-couples to
the floor or other
surface, for the
protection of
which, SRA
provides five more
steel cups to be
used at the
consumer's
discretion. The
agent bonding the
bottom section's
two ¾-inch-thick
plies looked
special enough to
prompt an enquiry.
Tellekamp
describes the
lower of the
platform's two
parts as
consisting of twin
slabs bonded under
high-pressure with
a proprietary
damping material -
the
interesting-looking
stuff - which he
also sells to
high-end component
manufacturers.
Urethane foam
surrounds the
spikes. According
to its designer,
the bottom section
addresses
low-frequency
floor and airborne
vibration,
"as most amps
are set up close
to the
speakers."

While
I've no precise
understanding of
those SRA
ingredients hidden
from view, I can
say with certainty
that baloney isn't
one of them. This
is the real deal.